# kunna
## Faroese
### Etymology

From Old Norse kunna, from Proto-Germanic *kunnaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃-.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈkʰʊnːa/
* Rhymes: -ʊnːa

### Verb

kunna (third person singular past indicative kundi, third person plural past indicative kundu, supine kunnað)
* can, to be able to
* to know

#### Conjugation
## Icelandic
### Etymology

From Old Norse kunna, from Proto-Germanic *kunnaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃-.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈkʰʏnːa/
* Rhymes: -ʏnːa

### Verb

kunna (preterite-present verb, third-person singular present indicative kann, third-person singular past indicative kunni, supine kunnað)
* to know (by heart), know a skill
    Hún kann enga þýsku.She doesn't know any German.
    Ég kunni þetta kvæði einu sinni utanað.I used to know this poem by heart.
* can: to know how to
    Um hvað ertu að tala? Auðvitað kann ég að synda.What are you talking about? Of course I can swim.
    Enginn er maður með mönnum nema hann kunni að skjóta.A man's not a man unless he knows how to shoot.
* may, might (denoting possibility)
    Þetta kann að vera of seint.It may already be too late.
    Viðbrögð hans kunna að virðast undarleg.His reaction might seem strange.

#### Derived terms

* kunna að gera
* kunna á
* kunna á bíl
* kunna sér ekki hóf
* kunna sér ekki læti
* kunna sér hóf
* kunna sig vel
* kunna skil á
* kunna utan að
* kunna vel
* kunna við
* kunna þakkir
* kunna þakkir fyrir

#### Related terms

* kunnur

## Norwegian Nynorsk
### Alternative forms

* kunne
* koinn, koinnj (Trøndelag eye dialect spelling)

### Etymology

Inherited from Old Norse kunna, from Proto-Germanic *kunnaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃-. Akin to English can.

### Verb

kunna (present tense kan, past tense kunne, past participle kunna)
* can, could
    Eg kan sjå deg.I can see you.
* might
    Eg kan komma, om eg får tid.I might come, if I can find the time.
* can (be able to)
    Eg kan spela fele.I can play the fiddle.
* to know
    Eg kan denne songen.I know this song.

### References

* “kunna” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

## Old Frisian
### Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *kunnan.

### Verb

kunna
* to be able (to), can

#### Descendants

* North Frisian:
    Föhr-Amrum: kön
    Hallig: kune
    Helgoland: kan
    Mooring: koone
    Sylt: ken
* Saterland Frisian: konne
* West Frisian: kinne

## Old Norse
### Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *kunnaną. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (“to know”).

### Verb

kunna
* to know, understand, be able to
* to know (by memory)
* to know, be familiar with (a person)

#### Related terms

* kenna
* kná
* kœnn

#### Descendants

* Icelandic: kunna
* Faroese: kunna
* Norwegian Nynorsk: kunna, kunne
* Norwegian Bokmål: kunne
* Elfdalian: kunna
* Old Swedish: kunna
** Swedish: kunna
* Old Danish: kunnæ
** Danish: kunne
* Gutnish: kunne

### Further reading

* Zoëga, Geir T. (1910) “kunna”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at the Internet Archive

## Old Swedish
### Etymology

From Old Norse kunna, from Proto-Germanic *kunnaną.

### Verb

kunna
* can, to be able
* to know

#### Descendants

* Swedish: kunna

## Swedish
### Etymology

From Old Swedish kunna, from Old Norse kunna, from Proto-Germanic *kunnaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃-.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /²kɵnːa/
* Audio:(file)

### Verb

kunna (present kan, preterite kunde, supine kunnat)
* "to can", to be able to
    att kunna göra någotto be able to do something
    Jag kan göra detI can do it
    Hon kan spela dragspelShe can play the accordion
    Hur länge har hon kunnat spela dragspel?How long has she been able to play the accordion?
    Jag hade också spelat dragspel om jag (hade) kunnatI would also have played the accordion if I had been able to
    Kan du komma imorgon?Can you come tomorrow?
    Jag kunde knappt väntaI could hardly wait
* to know (have proficiency in or deeper knowledge of)
    Kan du tyska?Do you know German?
    Jag kan karateI know karate
    Jag kan svaret på fråga 3I know the answer to question 3 (can also be expressed with veta (“know”))
    Han kan sina knepHe knows his tricks
    Han kan sina skräckfilmer och vann frågesportenHe knows his horror movies and won the quiz
* to possibly be able to, can, could, might, may
    Det kan hända vem som helstIt can happen to anyone
    Kan han vara den skyldige?Could he be the culprit?
    Ja, det kan vara han som gjorde detYeah, it might/could be him who did it
    att kunna vara skyldigto possibly ("to be able to") be guilty (somewhat awkward, but to illustrate the idea)
    Kan det vara Nisse som står där borta?Could that be Nisse standing over there?
    Det här kan vara det godaste jag ätitThis may be the most delicious thing I've ever eaten
* to be given permission to, "to can", "to may"
    Ni kan komma in nuYou can/may come in now
    Du kan gå nuYou may leave now (sounds more like an order in this example, like in English)

#### Usage notes

The English verb know has several different translations in Swedish, and the correct choice is not always obvious:
* veta – This is used mainly about theoretical knowledge (to know individual facts), while kunna also assumes ability, or even proficiency in the use of the knowledge.
* veta om – To be aware of.
* känna – To know about a person or their intentions (also: to recognize someone, to know someone's name).
* känna till – About knowing a (small) specific piece of fact; be (loosely) aware of. May indicate that the facts are a bit distant or less important to the person.

#### See also

* skulle (often appears together with kunna, especially in polite phrases)

### References

* kunna in Svensk ordbok (SO)
* kunna in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
* kunna in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

### Anagrams

* unkna